I’m visiting my mom and stepdad in Illinois for a couple of weeks and Mary couldn’t be happier. They no longer have a dog, so they shower her with attention and snacks and she loves it. Every time I turn around I hear, Can I give her some peanuts? She sure likes tuna fish! Her face might be a little syrupy from the pancakes. Who knew she’d love tacos?
I did. I knew she’d love tacos.
My mom actually rescued Mary and I think she remembers that. At the time, I had another dog and a cat — Beverly and Elvis — and I wasn’t sure if I could handle a third pet. But my mom had already gotten into an argument with someone over Mary at the shelter and she won, so this dog was coming home with me whether I liked it or not.
I feel like Mary knows this because she worships my mother. She follows her around like a puppy dog (ba dum bum) and snuggles with her on the sofa. My mom has Alzheimer’s, so she sleeps a lot, and Mary is always right by her side. It’s so sweet.
So you can imagine Mary’s surprise to discover my mom has a new pet, Puppy. “Puppy” is a mechanical dog made for people with dementia. (We named it Puppy because it’s easy to remember.) It responds to noises and touch just like a real animal. You can nuzzle and pet it, and it reacts by wagging its tail, panting and barking. I actually considered getting one for my mom this past Christmas, but I was worried she’d be offended by it. (You have to be careful how you treat people with dementia; you can’t patronize them.) But her friend Luann recently gave her one, and she loves it. She knows it’s not real, but she’s charmed by it.
You know who’s not charmed by it? Mary. She didn’t know what to make of it at first. It was moving and making noise, so naturally she started barking at it, demanding answers.
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